The Team

Jennifer Wilhelmi Sargent

After a party fueled B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Virginia, Jen thought to herself, “Why not Harvard?” In the years to follow, Jen received her MBA from Harvard Business School, worked for Bertelsmann Ventures overseas in Germany and on Wall Street for J.P. Morgan.

Jen heard there was money to be made in this thing called the Internet (who knew?) and moved on to a position at DoubleClick where she gained a wealth of experience in international media, streamlining the business, rebuilding the customer base and growing the profitable divisions. You know, little things. The Dot.com bubble filled and popped. Jen had thrived in tech investment banking during the height of the bubble at J.P. Morgan, and thrived at developing valuable internet real-estate when it deflated. Most recently, Jen was the Director of Online Marketing & Development at Reed Business Information (parent of Variety.com). During this time she helped launch new Websites, managed marketing and traffic development of Reed’s (60+) Websites and was responsible for selling online advertising to strategic accounts across the portfolio. Can women be Jedi? Fanboy survey says… YES.

Jen loves to travel and has lived and worked all over the world, including New York, Tokyo, Hamburg, London, Boston, LA and now Washington, DC where she and her husband, Pete, wonder what genius is making millions selling poorly fitted khakis and blue blazers. When she isn’t on her laptop…never mind. Jen is always on her laptop with buds in her ears, is an unpublished epicure and a frequent moviegoer. Note: HitFix does not condone the use of laptops or other electronic devices during theatre viewing. Bad Jen!

Gregory Ellwood

An MFA graduate of CalArts, Gregory has over a decade of experience in the entertainment industry. He began his career at 20th Century Fox where he worked on international campaigns for such films as “Titanic,” “Romeo & Juliet” and “The X-Files Movie.” At Paramount Pictures, he survived the birth, death and resurrection of the internet spearheading online campaigns for numerous pictures including “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” and “Mean Girls.” In 2004, he escaped the studio side of the biz and transitioned to editorial where he created the popular Hollywood Hitlist column on MSN Movies. Subsequently, Gregory has consulted for Variety and was also responsible for re-launching the LA Times’ The Envelope website for the 2007-2008 season. He’s also written for The Los Angeles Times and has been a frequent contributor to Variety. Gregory also is a passionate basketball fan and player. He can consistently be found hitting clutch 3’s in meaningless pick up games across Los Angeles.

Daniel Fienberg

Dan Fienberg is a well-respected and influential writer for Zap2it for the past six years. He was one of the first American Idol bloggers on the web, he’s covered all seven seasons. Recently elected to the Television Critic’s Association (TCA) board and the only online member. Regular contributor on movies for Filter magazine. Like an odd safari guide, can spot and identify former reality show contestants roaming free in the steppes of Los Angeles.

Drew “Moriarty” McWeeny

Drew has been breaking scoops and annoying movie studios for over a decade while at Ain’t It Cool News. A lover of all types of films, from blockbusters to obscure exploitation, he’s been an outspoken advocate for independent and global cinema, offering some of the earliest reviews of films like Old Boy, Hedwig and The Angry Inch, The Ring and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, helping launch them into international awareness. Drew is banned from Skywalker Ranch for life for being the first person on the planet to review the Star Wars: Episode I script in 1998. He also wrote the first online review of the Lord of the Rings screenplays. Recent breaks include first official images and set visits for Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are and Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass. Screenwriter on Showtime’s Master of Horror. Drew has left AICN to be a full-time member of the HitFix team.

Melinda Newman

Melinda Newman is the former West Coast Bureau Chief for Billboard Magazine with more than 15 years of experience in the music industry. She covers music and entertainment for the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, Associated Press, MSN, AOL and other outlets. Recent interviews include Taylor Swift, Pink, Brad Paisley, Foo Fighters, Jonas Bros. and Snow Patrol. The Beat Goes On marks Melinda's debut in the blogosphere.

Katie Hasty

Kansas native Katie Hasty graduated from Northwestern University in 2004 and served as an online editor and columnist for Billboard Magazine for nearly five years. She has been a contributing editor and freelancer for several other entertainment and trade outlets -- from Stop Smiling and Punk Planet to Photo District News and Kirkus Reviews -- for more than 10 years. Music supervisor, A&R; consultant, music contest judge radio correspondent, recording artist, concert promoter and web designer are amongst the many other duties she's served. She lives in Brooklyn, where she also plays with her band Numbers And Letters, and is a sucker for dark beer, Christmas songs, road bikes and Tom Waits.

Arash Hadipanah

Arash has spent his entire career working in the online space. At Reed Business Information, he was one of the key players in helping transform traditional print media companies and brands into online-centric businesses, specifically in the area of online advertising, search engine optimization, traffic growth and new media. He managed the re-launch of Design News' website, an RBI publication in January 2006; resulting in a 36% increase in page impressions from the previous year. Whether Arash is studying the latest search engine optimization techniques, newest web 2.0 technologies or what's hot on the web; his real dream is getting that call from Michael Bay to work on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Elliott Blatt

Elliott’s early childhood was spent playing with piles of FORTRAN punch-cards that his father kept stacked in cardboard boxes. He wasn't allowed to watch much television. One of the few programs he was allowed to watch was ’Saturday Night Live’ -- the original cast. He learned to manage time at an early age by planning his sleep schedule in order remain awake until 11:30 -- just to see Mr. Bill meet an untimely demise -- “Ohhhh...Nooooo”. As the years went on, computers came and went. Elliott rode the rise an fall of many start-ups. He considers it a badge of honor to have been both acquired by and laid off from IBM. These days, Elliott again is at the nexus of software and entertainment, staring at a screen, screaming "Ohhhh Nooo!", but for entirely different reasons.